Karate Kid
by Screaming Dean
Summary: Thrown out of the army due to a botched experiment by a mad scientist, that which didn't kill Lt. Val Armorr has only made him stronger, turning him into the powerful Karate Kid existing in the Marvel Universe! In ch. 3 Val and his teacher go to France to take on the enigmatic La Peregrine!
1. Catastrophy and Triumph

Karate Kid

!SPECIAL EFFECTS! _"THOUGHTS"_

Chapter One

"Are you sure about this, Dr. Phosphorus? You're putting too much of the serum into him," the army scientist said with concern.

"Silence, fool! I know what I'm doing," the middle aged looking man with glasses, medium length, bright red hair and a beard scolded.

"But it looks like you're repeating the same mistake you did with those three other volunteers who died from your experiments," Captain Nordberg commented.

"The last three volunteers were not failures but only setbacks. I've improved my muscle and durability power serum each time those volunteers failed to survive. This time will be different."

"I hope so. After those three 'setbacks' the army forbade you to experiment on anymore subjects. If we get caught doing this..."

"We won't, fool! By the time the army brass finds out about what we're doing my experiment will be a success. Then I will be put in charge of the new U.S. army's Super Soldier Program. My greatness as a doctor and a scientist will be world renown!"

"All right. But this guy, Second Lieutenant Val Armorr, didn't even volunteer. His food was drugged. After he wasn't able to wake up, he was placed in our care via the army hospital."

"I know all about that! I have friends in high places so this man was 'volunteered' for my disposal. Even though he's only five foot eight inches tall weighing only 150 pounds he'll thank me when he's turned into the kind of super soldier that will put Captain America to shame!"

"But why him, Dr. Phosphorus?" Nordberg asked.

"Before he 'volunteered' I investigated him. He grew up, trained in a shorin kempo karate by his maternal grandfather, eventually learning boxing, Thai-kickboxing, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, wrestling, wing chun kung fu, tae kwon do, street fighting, military commando training and several other disciplines. In addition to all that he's also a trained acrobat and escape artist. The training he has gone through has made him a lot more agile and stronger than he appears to be. Eventually his family moved to Venice Beach, the bodybuilding capitol of the world. He was so impressed with the powerful looking physiques of all the people who posed and worked out there that he hit the weights himself. He had a hard time packing on muscle but he did manage to become wiry with a lot of muscular definition."

"You really did investigate this guy! I guess you already know that he excelled in physical training, majored in biology and did very well in several other science courses in addition to being in R.O.T.C."

"Yes. This man is very intelligent. But what's even more important is the fact that his genetic DNA will increase the chances that what I'm doing will be much more likely to be successful. Only one in a three million is able to benefit from my experiments. Now that I've found the right subject, my irradiated formula will finally be successful."

"What exactly did you put into him that's so much different from the others?"

"That's my secret. However, the chances of his success and survival are debatable. If he doesn't have what it takes to be one of the greatest soldiers on the planet then he's finished."

Captain Nordberg took another look at their "patient". "If you put irradiated substances into him it might be a disaster! As it is, you put more of that modified serum into him than you did all the others combined! I'm beginning to think..."

"Do me a favor; don't think. We've been working on this guy for about two weeks now. There's another thing called ki about which you know nothing. All of the volunteers had great ki potential but Lt. Armorr here has more than all the others put together."

"He's flat lining! He's going into convulsions! We're losing him!" Captain Nordberg said with a sense of urgency.

"Calm down, fool! I think I can..." !BEEEEP! "Hmmm. He's flat lining! Sigh. It looks like this fool didn't have what it took for greatness either. Oh, well. I'll just find another 'volunteer'. Too bad. I really thought this one would make me famous."

Captain Nordberg looked at the mad scientist with a look of horror on his face. "Don't you understand? This was our last chance! No one will allow us to do something like this again. We're through!"

Dr. Phosphorus looked at his accomplice for a moment then calmly said, "you mean you're through. I was the one who told you that you were putting too much anabolic material in his system."

"What? I warned you not to put so much of your vaunted formula into his body. I also warned you that putting your irradiated serum into him would be a disaster. This is your fault! Not mine!"

"Spare me your melodramatic balderdash! I never actually admitted to putting so much irradiated anabolic serum into him. Besides, who do you think they're going to believe, you, a mad scientist who has had too many experiments blow up in his face and embarrass the army or a great scientist like me? Of course, the fact that I was here at the time will mar my career but the contacts I have in the army will cover me as always. Besides, I'm not really in the army anyway, Captain. So I'm not someone they can go after. Good luck at your court-martial."

"You monster! It's bad enough four good men had to die for your mad experiments, but now you're going to blame me for the whole thing? Well, I'm not going down without a fight. I'm going to tell everyone about what you've done, especially the eugenics! Even if it means the end of my career, everyone is going to know what you're all about!"

"What you've just said will mean the end of your life when it could have just meant the end of your career. For your information, I've tested some of my experiments on myself. I was a little more careful and used substances that were more benign but I'm a lot stronger and tougher than I appear to be. You know that I'm in my sixties yet I look as if I'm in my thirties. There's a reason for that. Here, let me show you." Dr. Phosphorus moved towards the other doctor at an inhuman speed, putting his hands around the man's neck.

"What are you doing? Nooooo!" Nordberg screamed as Dr. Phosphorus musculature increased as he attacked the army doctor, eventually using an especially deadly shiatsu attack in order to put him under cardiac arrest shutting down his heart and killing him.

_"Too bad, Nordberg. I might have actually have helped your career if you hadn't been so incompetent and held me back,"_ Dr. Phosphorus thought to himself as he picked up the phone.

"General Tomlin? Yes, this is Dr. Phosphorus. It appears we have another problem."

"Another failure, Dr. Phosphorus? We really can't afford this. I stuck my neck out for you three times already. The higher ranking generals ordered this shut down. But I allowed you to do this because you told me this would be a success. Lt. Armorr had a promising career. The army has spent a lot of time and money training this last man in commando training and as a sniper! He had orders to start going out on missions as an army ranger in a few weeks. Covering this up is going to be horribly difficult."

"Listen, General. I've done a lot for you. Including having your rivals eliminated without anyone else knowing about it. You wouldn't have your two stars at the young age of 30 if it wasn't for me. At any rate, my next experiment will be a success."

"What does Captain Nordberg have to say about that?" the General inquired.

"He couldn't handle the strain of our work so he suffered a heart attack. You don't have to worry about him. But you owe me a great deal, General. I remember some of the other things you've done with my help like getting that under age Finnish girl you bought from that Shadowlaw slave ring."

"She's not under age anymore!" the general said nervously.

"She was only fourteen at the time you first had your way with her. I got you a good deal on that gorgeous blond with the perfect body and passive spirit. It should have cost you a lot more money than it did, but due to my connections you paid a fraction of what she was worth. Are you still enjoying your hot, sexy little love slave, hmm?"

"There's no need for any problems between us," the general said nervously, sweating bullets. "It's just that so many deaths like this are unacceptable."

"The means to my ends are always acceptable."

"What I meant was," the general said nervously, "is that another death by your experiments is unacceptable. "

"Is that so?" the doctor said with more than a hint of menace.

"Now hear me out. I can still fix this. What we can say is that the lieutenant had health problems that you discovered when you gave him a more thorough check up. The health problems were so bad that we had to give him an honorable discharge BEFORE HE DIED. Get the picture, Doctor?"

"All right. We'll do it your way."

"Good," the general said, getting his composure. "I can have his discharge papers pre-dated. I can send some trusted men over there to get rid of him. As far as anybody knows he simply died of the health problems he had before you did anything to him."

"Yes, that will work. I knew I could count on you, General. When will I start my next experiment?"

"We're going to have to lay low on that for a while. Let's clean this mess up first. When we're in the clear, you can start up again."

XXX

In an alternate universe where the Val Armorr of that plane of existence was known as Karate Kid fought for his life against Nemesis Kid on the planet of Orando after having freed himself, his wife, Princess Projectra and some other Legionnaires from the clutches of the Legion of Super Villains.

"It's over Karate Kid. You were never able to defeat me. No matter how skilled or powerful the opponent, I always come out on top. I will enjoy killing you."

"Wrong, Nemesis Kid. You and the Legion of Super Villains are finished! Aargh!"

"Oh, really?" the arch villain replied, having struck Val with a blow he wasn't quite able to block in time. "It's interesting how it took you a lifetime to get your powers while I got my powers within a moment. And now you shall die."

"Huff! Dying in battle is the ultimate honor by my cultural standards. If I must die let it be in combat," Karate Kid said in his horrifically beaten up state.

"No, Val!" Princess Projectra called out from several yards away. "You must destroy the power source for the machines that are moving Orando away from this dimension!"

"All right, Jeckie! Consider it my last gift to you." With that Karate Kid did an acrobatic back flip avoiding Nemesis' attacks, then he used his Legion flight ring to fly up towards the huge ten mile apparatus, striking it with all his might! !KABOOM! "It's over." With that the famous Karate Kid passed out as the explosion engulfed him and the apparatus.

_"There was so much I had wanted to do. Would that I could live again somehow. Wait! I could just swear that another version of me is dying in another universe. It must be the effect of the inter-dimensional machine I'm destroying. If I could just send myself there and take over, merging with my doppelganger, I can have another chance at life."_

Though he was dying, Karate Kid concentrated, sending his essence into the dying body of Lieutenant Val Armorr from the other plane of existence. _"It's working! Good bye, Jeckie. Good bye Legion of Super Heroes. Farewell."_

XXX

"He's already been discharged so we'll leave him here," one of the Black Ops agents said.

"Affirmative. This park bench will do. His discharge papers and I.D. are on him, so we'll have nothing to worry about. But one thing bothers me," the other Black Ops agent stated.

"What's that?"

"If he's actually dead, why doesn't he smell bad? In fact he almost smells as fresh as a daisy."

"Forget about it. Ours is not to reason why and all that. We're done here; let's go."

After the men had left, an old man walked over to the seemingly dead man picked him up and carried him home.

XXX

A few hours later in the morning, the old man had put the man he had been carrying down on his back in the middle of his large plush, beautiful garden in his backyard. Not only were plush, large plants there, but the place contained a few fruit trees as well. _"He's still not moving even though he's still alive. I've seen many men who were still alive even though they looked as if they were dead but weren't really dead when I was growing up in Hokkaido. They looked so dead even the doctors were fooled. So I'll have to take him out of his coma by touching some shiatsu points."_

At that moment Val began to burst out of his clothes, tearing them. Then he woke up with a gasp. "Where am I?" the formerly dead martial arts master exclaimed as he looked around and took account of his surroundings.

"Greetings, Val. It's been a long time." Val's maternal grandfather, Tetsuo Matsuda, regarded him calmly.

"Ah, yes. You're my grandfather, right?. I wonder where I am." Val looked up, regarding the old man before him who appeared to be in his eighties with a powerful physique including well corded muscles despite his advanced age. He was balding with a mustache and goatee, resembling Miyage from the Karate Kid movies.

"You're in my backyard garden. I had a feeling you'd recover quicker out here since you have a strong affinity for nature."

"What happened to my clothes; they're all torn. And what happened to my voice?" Val said, grasping his throat. _"It's deeper than I remember. This voice isn't even familiar with the memories of my doppelganger that I absorbed when I merged with this body."_

"I believe someone used you for an experiment that went wrong, or so they thought. Some men dropped you off on a park bench in the dark of night. When they left I carried you back here. Ever since then you've been here for a few hours, sleeping during that time."

"Why would they have left me there? I was an army officer who was on his way to becoming an army ranger. I'll have to get back to base before I'm awol." Val said as he tried to get up until he felt pain shoot through his body.

"You really don't have to worry about that anymore. The men who dropped you off were Black Ops. I took the liberty of reading your paperwork. Here are your discharge papers," his grandfather said as he handed the former soldier his paperwork and I.D.

"Hmm. I find all this hard to believe."

"You should read the whole thing. It says here you were discharged due to health problems. I suspect discharge occurred with the onset of your health problems."

The young man got up and read all of the discharge papers, confirming what the old martial arts master had said. "I actually don't remember any previous health problems, but what you're saying makes sense."

"There's much that's different about you, Val. Go to the koi pond nearby and look upon your reflection in the water," the master ordered.

As Val walked over to the pond he saw his reflection looking back at him. "Interesting." The image before him was that of a much more handsome man with golden brown hair instead the dark brown hair he had from before. He was now six feet tall, weighing a much defined, inhumanly powerful 200 pounds of rock solid muscle.

"Your whole ki signature has changed, Val. I just can't put my finger on it. What happened during your time in the army? What do you remember happening last?"

"Have you ever heard of alternate universes and doppelgangers?" Val asked the old man who looked at him in a quizzical manner.

"Only in science fiction. Why do you say that?"

"While I was dying I wished I could live another life again. Well, my wish came true."

"That makes little sense," the old man said.

"I'm actually an alternate universe version of the Val Armorr you knew. The Val you knew died. But I was able to inhabit this body and even assimilate his former memories before he passed on." Then Val explained to his grandfather his life as Karate Kid in the Legion of Super Heroes all the way to how he "died."

"That's all so astounding! But something inside me tells me you're telling me the truth. It's obvious to me that you are an entirely different person now. Since you're here in this plane of existence you might as well train for the upcoming World Class Martial Arts Tournament.

"A tournament?"

"Yes. It's an underground tournament where the greatest martial artists of the world compete to see who the best is. It's a very dangerous"

"It seems I've come to the right place," Val said with a smile.

"I don't know exactly how powerful you are now, so it's important you train and train hard to learn how to control your newly enhanced body. I've trained all kinds of martial artists over the years. But I'm an old man, and I've never been able to prove that our family's kempo karate style is the best in the world."

"Yes. I see. That will be the meat of my martial arts while I'm here, but everything I've learned from other planets and such will be used as well."

"Other planets?" the old man asked incredulously.

"Yes, the plane of existence from whence I've come had space exploration down pat."

"I see. All right, then. We'll begin your retraining right now."

XXX

After a few weeks Val had adapted to his new environment mostly by training hard in his grandfather's kempo karate style. He also learned how to use ki and chi to increase his strength, endurance, toughness, speed, agility and quickness which was already impressive. In addition to that, he learned "overall skill levels" which allowed him to "train" even when he wasn't really training as these skills could be applied to whatever he was doing at the time.

Master Matsuda was impressed with Val's discipline and control over his body which was a lot greater than the doppelganger he had replaced. Val moved with a grace that surpassed any martial artist Matsuda had ever seen, doing katas that seemed more like an alien form of tai chi. Val didn't stop in between katas; he did several of them in one slow motion. His body, mind, and spirit were in harmony as he trained.

"I'm impressed with how fast you've learned what I've taught you. In fact, all you've done is adapt what you've already knew. Now it's time for some more training. Have you ever heard of gung fu, iron skin, tai chi and speed hitting, Val?"

"Yes, I heard of them. I've been learning these techniques from you, have I not?"

"That's right. I've been training you at a gradually slow pace, but now that you have more control over your body, your training in these techniques will increase."

"I can handle it, but I have noticed something."

"What's that?" the kempo master asked.

"My strength is greater than it's ever been. Are my abilities more because of your training or because of what the army did to me?" Val asked.

"Well, I'd say a little bit of both. What I've taught you has helped you a great deal. I guess you already found out that why the army threw you out," Tetsuo said.

"Yeah. But it was as if I was never in the army. Every one to whom I spoke, talked about me as if I was already dead. I also found out that the guy that experimented on me, Dr. Phophserus, has disappeared. No one knows where he is. There's something fishy going on, but never mind that now. I'm ready for the new training you have for me."

XXX

"All right, Val, I've been training you for a year now. You've come a long way; at this point your strength is very impressive. You have some resistance to killing attacks, but you're nowhere near being invulnerable. Keep in mind a lot of these martial artists you'll be facing are very skilled," the martial arts master fore warned.

"I understand, Sensei," Val answered as he wore a copy of what he wore when he was in the Legion of Super Heroes being a white super hero karate uniform with yellow/gold trim, white colored boots, brown wristbands, black pants and a black belt. In order to make a bigger name for himself, Val decided to call himself Karate Kid. The promoters had laughed at the name until they saw Val win his preliminary matches with shameless ease.

"Don't get cocky, Val. The fighters in this underground tournament have moderate super powers," the old man explained.

"Super powers?"

"Yes. Even though the contestants aren't allowed to use super power, many of them use hidden devices to cheat in order to win their fights. Some of the contestants have mild super powers that will help in their fights like teleportation or moderate super strength. Your fighting abilities could be interpreted as super human. Many of the others are very similar, some of them are more. You'll have to be ready for anything, Val. Just be careful and aware of your environment at all times; a powerful and skilled fighter can defeat you if you take him too lightly."

"Hmm. I see," Val answered.

The two martial artists arrived at the underground fighting circuit which was taking place at the

"And now for the Martial arts Tournament match being held at the L.A. Colisium. Presenting Judo Jack from Rio De Janeiro, Brazil!" Judo Jack wore a judo gi that was orange with gray trim and a color matching mask that covered his whole head. He looked to be about six feet three weighing 250 pounds with a barrel chest and large arms, making him look very powerful.

"Hooray!"

"And his opponent is from Venice, California. His name is Karate Kid!" As Val walked into the arena the spectators gawked at him first then cheered. The square footage of the fighting ring was twice as much as the standard boxing ring, being especially made and reinforced for the Underground Fight Tournament.

"So! You're the high and mighty Karate Kid. I'll show how this tournament is supposed to go!" Judo Jack announced as he regarded the half Japanese, half Caucasian man before him.

"Jiu jitsu is a very honorable art. Let's see if you are worthy of it."

"The Brazillian jiu jitsu I know is the best in the world. Maybe you'll give me a good workout with your vaunted karate which is really over rated. All I have to do is put you in a hold and it's all over. You'd have had a better chance against me if you were a wrestler, but now defeating you will be all too easy."

"Just bring it!" Val said as he leaped up into the air and came down in an arc, attempting come down on his opponent and hit him feet first. But the judo master was too aware of what was going to happen so he grabbed Val's feet, using a judo throw to slam him into the ground.

_"That was so easy. Next time I'll put him in a choke hold and that will be it,"_ the judo master thought with confidence. However, Val figured he'd throw him. Landing on his feet, he pretended to fall for that trap while setting up a trap of his own.

_"This guy hasn't realized that I have gotten behind him. Now to beat the living daylights out of him with some powerful combinations,"_ Karate Kid contemplated as he struck the surprised judo master with several rapid fire punches and kicks, ending the barrage with a left hook, snapping the side of his opponent's jaw to his left.

"Ungh! What kind of steroids have you been taking?" Judo Jack exclaimed. "Nobody has ever hit me that hard!" Judo Jack managed to keep from taking too much damage from Val's recent attack by rolling with the blow, hitting the ground and rolling away out of range. _"If I hadn't learned how to take a beating at least a little bit I would have been creamed by now! What is this guy made of? Is he made out of steel? His fists are tougher than stone; that's for sure."_

As Judo Jack was contemplating all this, Val moved in on him and struck him with a roundhouse punch that knocked the judo master back several feet. Before Judo Jack could get his bearings Val struck the ground with his right foot causing a shockwave that ended right where Jack was falling causing him to bounce off of the ground in pain.

"Aargh! I don't believe you have so much power. What kind of roids are you taking anyway? I know this is a street fight but sheesh!" Jack exclaimed.

"The very fact that you keep making comments about me taking steroids makes me think you've been taking steroids of some kind yourself. If that's the case, I'm not going to beef about it, but don't go making accusations against me you can't prove!" the karateka answered as he ran over to him and struck him with knee to the groin, followed up by a left uppercut to the jaw, causing the judoka's head to snap back. Since his sternum area was then open, Val decided to end the fight by striking his opponent right there, knocking the judo master to the ground.

"Wow! And there you have it, folks! The Karate Kid has taken the fight world by storm, showing what he's made of today! Nobody knows where Val Armorr came from but only time will tell!" the announcer said to the cheers of the crowd.

"You beat him, Val. You have gone beyond what I thought you were capable of doing. Now, let's get our winnings and go home," Master Matsuda said, hiding the fact he was actually proud of his grandson.

"Val Armorr?"

The Karate Kid turned towards the sound of the voice he heard, taking a good look at the man wearing a dark blue uniform version of Captain America's uniform, wing tips on his head and all. Blue stars and stripes

"Yeah, that's me. What about it?"

"So it is you. I thought you looked familiar."

"Who are you? I don't think you're Captain America."

"No. I'm the Usagent. Last I heard the army threw you out because of your bad health. You obviously look very healthy."

"What do you want?" Val asked suspiciously.

"I have a few words for you," the large man said sternly.

"Do you represent the army?" Val said, regarding the military bearing of the man before him.

"The army is a great place to be. What's your problem with the army?" the agent demanded.

"The army threw me out like so much trash after some guy named Dr. Phosphorus experimented on me and almost killed me. I'll show you my walking papers if you don't believe me," Val responded.

"That won't be necessary. I've seen all the paper work. I'm not accusing you of being a deserter or anything like that. I've heard about you participating in underground fighting championships which you won quite handily. You've even proved victorious in the lower level street fighting circuits and in the speed and agility contests. After the experiments you've benefited from, it seems a bit unfair, don't you think?"

"Hey, I didn't ask for this. And the strength I have is from a lot of training and the weight lifting I did years back before I joined the army along with a lot of chi and ki training by channeling my life force into strength and toughness. I can't help what that mad scientist did to me. I almost died from what he did! Anyway, you're not exactly a weakling yourself.?"

"I'm not weakling in any shape or form, but I'm not here to argue what's weak or strong. The army wants you back. You can start with the rank you had when they 'discharged' you."

"Who said I wanted to come back? I'm fine with what I'm doing now. So you can go back to them if you want. I have some street fights to train for."

"Listen, Lieutenant, the army spent a lot money paying for your college and a lot of time and money training you. You still owe..."

"Don't call me Lieutenant, you Captain America wannabe! I'm not in the army anymore. And I never volunteered for any experiments!"

"We know all about that. The experiments Dr. Phosphorus did on you had been forbidden. He and Captain Nordberg disobeyed orders. When it looked like you were going to die, a high ranking general arranged to have you 'discharged' to cover up what they were doing."

"I've recovered from what happened even though I was in a lot of pain and almost died. Master Matsuda, my grandfather here helped me out when nobody else did."

"I understand all of that. But the general who discharged you has since been court martialed," the USAgent replied.

"What about Dr. Phosphorus? Last I heard he disappeared. Do you know where he is?" the karateka asked.

"Nobody knows where he is, but I strongly suspect he's working for some mastermind super villain," the larger man explained.

"Super villains? I'm not afraid of them or anyone else. It's been nice talking to you, but I have to go. See you around," Val said as he walked away from USAgent with his grandfather beside him.

"Wait! There's a group called the Avengers!" the agent called out to the departing martial artist. _"I have to convince him to either return to the army or join up with the Avengers. I can tell this guy has more going for him than just martial arts. I can sense that somehow."_

XXX


	2. A Date with Destiny

Karate Kid

!SOUND EFFECTS! _"THOUGHTS"_

Chapter Two

"You'll need to be prepared for this guy, Val; his name is Crossbones," Tetsuo said to his student while the muscular young man warmed up for the upcoming the fight, doing tai chi exercises while they waited in the locker room for the fight call.

"Crossbones? Does he have a friend named Skull?" Val asked.

"You're not far wrong, Val. Crossbones is rumored to be working for the Red Skull, a well-known leader of a criminal organization. Be careful when you fight him, Val. He's also very agile for his size and horribly strong with a lot of tricks up his sleeves. I have some video tapes of him fighting. Whatever you do, don't underestimate this guy."

"All right," Val said as he did some more tai chi type katas. "I'll take this guy seriously, but I've been training so hard that there's no way some guy who relies overly on strength is going beat me."

"You think all I have is strength?" a raspy yet baritone voice called out.

Val turned around and immediately found himself looking up to the large, physically imposing man wearing a white skull mask, a dark blue pants, and shirt with a white crossbones symbol on it. "So you think you can beat me, you schmuck? It'll take more than some over rated karate guy to beat me," Crossbones stated harshly.

"I'm more than just a karate expert, that's why I'll defeat you. You'll see in the fight," Val answered, unimpressed with his giant sized opponent.

"Like a lot of fairy martial artists, you're way too pleased with yourself. I'm sure you think you're such hot stuff because you won a bunch of tournaments. Well, let me tell you something, little man, all those tournaments are nothing like real life." Crossbones paused for a moment. "This isn't a tournament; this is a street fight, real life!" After he had finished speaking, Crossbones folded his arms on his massive chest.

"I haven't had it as easy as you imagine, big man. I've gone through more arduous training than you could possibly imagine," Val answered.

"I doubt that very much," the masked man replied, walking off away with a confident gait.

"There was no reason to antagonize him like that, Val," his sensei admonished.

"You're probably right. But I'll still defeat this guy. As big and strong as this guy is I've defeated people who were a lot bigger and stronger," Karate Kid said with confidence as the two men made their way towards the arena.

The place was dark except for the ring and where the fighters were as they walked towards the squared circle. It resembled a boxing ring, but it was much larger and sturdier, looking as if it could survive a nuclear bomb.

"There he is. I heard he was dead," a voice in the shadows whispered.

"Right. And he's a whole lot bigger and stronger than he was before," the other agent said to the first one as they both hid in the shadows.

"He's obviously alive, fool! Dr. Phosphorus wants us to grab him so he can figure out why Val Armorr survived his experiments and thrived when everybody else died. We'll wait until after his match against Crossbones. Then we'll nab him."

XXX

"We're now here for the match of Val Armorr, the Karate Kid who faces off against Crossbones!" the announcer stated to the cheering crowd of 70,000 filthy rich viewers in addition to the millions who were watching online and on closed circuit television. The underground auditorium was hidden somewhere in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was very clean and well cooled thanks to the air conditioning despite the intense heat outside.

Crossbones walked towards the ring to an assortment of cheers and boos. The crowd was mixed with people who had decided to be fans of Val while some were fans of Crossbones, but most of the people in the audience just wanted to see a great fight. Val came from the other end also hearing an assortment of cheers and boos, but he got more cheers than boos.

"Let's get ready to rumblllllle!" the announcer screamed, starting the skull wearing masked man carefully walked over to his opponent with his hands out ready to grab him while Val deftly leaped into the air, dodging the bigger man and landing on the top of his head.

"Are we having fun yet?" the martial arts master said, looking down on his opponent.

"Making fun of me, you schmuck?!" Crossbones reached up to the lithe and agile fighter with cat like reflexes but the karateka was too fast for him. Jumping off of his head, landing on his feet, he crouched and leg swept the bigger fighter off of his feet before he knew what was happening. "Oof!"_ "This guy moves with a lot of speed. I'll have to work harder on getting my hands on him."_

Surprising the karate fighter with an attack that came out of the blue, Crossbones grabbed the man's torso, swung him around, leaping up into the air with Val in tow flipping him over. Pointing his head towards the ground as he held him tightly, he spun around while still in the air and slammed him into the ground head first.

"Yeow!" the Karate Kid screamed as he got up from the ground a little dizzy. Then Crossbones grabbed him and put him in a bear hug.

"It is over now, little karate man. All your vaunted speed and reflexes can't save you now. Did you get plastic surgery or are your good looks just make up from West Hollywood hairdresser?" The large man mocked as he put the squeeze on him.

"Never mind that! It's not over yet!" Val exclaimed as he slipped and broke out of the big man's hold to the surprise of everyone there. Val then grabbed Zangief and threw the bigger man an into the air, leaping up after him and attacked him with several roundhouse kicks, striking him countless times. While they were both still in the air, Val attacked his opponent in various areas with several super speed punch and kick combinations.

"Ungh!" Zangief screamed as he hit the ground. "His attacks are fast and brutal; I can't endure another volley of such attacks. I have to end this quickly." But as Zangief ran towards karate fighter in order to grab him, Val struck him with several rapid fire punches and kicks, the last two being an uppercut to the stomach and a knee to the chin as the larger man lurched forward after the first blow. After having knocked Crossbones back, the karate fighter struck him with several more roundhouse kicks in a fast paced helicopter manner, the last kick knocking him out, sending him to the ground with a huge thud.

"And we have a winner! The mighty Karate Kid has defeated Crossbones, the right hand man of the Red Skull with a series of powerful kicks! As everyone here has seen today, this new fighter's karate maneuvers have brought him a victory the fans here will long remember!" the announcer yelled as everybody watching cheered after seeing such an impressive fight. "The question remains whether or not he has the staying power to continue all the way to the Tournament Championship."

"Your fight was impressive but still a little sloppy," Master Matsuda complimented. "You should have used your superior speed to overtake that guy sooner. It was a bad idea wrestling a guy as big as Crossbones."

"Yeah, well. Punch, kick, wrestle. I can do it all. Besides I won the fight; that's all that matters," Val replied.

"Well. That was an interesting fight," a beautiful woman said, walking up to them.

"Glad you loved it, babe," Val responded, admiring the tall, statuesque woman dressed like a cowgirl. "Is there a John Wayne convention around here?"

"Oh, that's so funny. I was just doing some horseback riding at a dude ranch. But I really enjoyed the fight. I like the look you have, too," the brunette said with a smile and a tip of her hat as she admired Val's muscular defined physique.

"You have to be careful wearing cowboy hats," Tetsuo interjected.

"What's wrong with cowboy hats?" the slender yet busty woman asked, looking at the older man with her sparkling blue eyes.

"They hinder circulation. That's why Texas has the most men who are bald when they get older. Texans wear cowboy hats religiously."

"Oh!" the fit lady with well-muscled arms and nice legs exclaimed as she took the hat off, letting the string attached to it hang around her neck as her long bluish, black hair cascaded down her shoulders all the way to the center of her back.

"I'm Destiny Fathom. I've competed in countless bikini competitions in the auditorium you just had your fight in. Surely you've heard of me."

"Now that you mention it, I have. I simply didn't recognize you in your cowgirl getup," Val answered in adoration.

"You mean you didn't recognize me with my clothes on, hmmm? Well, I'm not a real cowgirl. I just thought the look would be nice. So what's your real name, hmm?"

"I'm Val Armorr and this is Master Tetsuo Matsuda, my trainer and grandfather," Val answered as he happily admired the 5ft. 8 inches tall, 135 pound, shapely cowgirl poser with 38-24-36 inch measurements. _"Not only is she gorgeous, she has a sexy and fit physique,"_ the martial artist thought to himself happily.

"Hi, Val. How about having dinner with me? My date canceled on me, so I'm free. What do you say?"

"Well, I'm not doing anything else tonight. What do you have in mind?" Val asked, unable to take his eyes of Destiny's impressive bosom which seemed to stand at attention.

Destiny then gently raised her new paramour's chin so that he was face to face with her. "My face is up here, Val. I have a reservation at a restaurant called Saffron's. Meet me there at six."

"Sure, babe. I'll be there," Val answered as she walked away with a smile and a sway of her hips which Val admired.

"Val! Val!" the martial arts master called out to him, snapping his fingers.

"Uh? Oh, yeah."

"Don't do too much drinking while you're there, Val. Alcohol slows down the reflexes. And don't forget about your match with Batroc in Arizona, a few days from now!"

"Sure, Sensei. I'm gonna hit the showers and get ready. After that I'm going to meet my destiny."

"What?"

"That was a play on words."

"Oh," the older man said, finally getting it.

XXX

Destiny Fathom arrived at Saffron's restaurant wearing a midriff baring white chiffon dress. As she walked through the restaurant to the bar almost every man stared at her slim yet bodacious figure.

_"I hope Val doesn't see me as desperate but I really like the guy; he's one cool cat. I can tell he's been through a lot. And he'd have had to have worked out horribly hard to attain the body he has. Wow! I'll be able to see him walk in since I'm five minutes early,"_ Destiny thought to herself as she daydreamed about being with the object of her desire.

After Val had cleaned up and got dressed up nice he arrived at the Saffron restaurant. He was wearing a brown shoes, sports jacket and pants. But before he could walk through the entrance a few men wearing ski masks, carrying guns confronted him.

"Hold it right there!"

"What's with the ski masks, fellas?"

"You're coming with us. So don't make any sudden moves!"

"You guys can just stuff it. I have an appointment."

"You better watch yourself, Boy. You won't be able to dodge gunfire at this close a range no matter how agile and quick you think you are," the lead gunman ordered out.

_"I can evade the gunfire but there are a lot of people around here so I'll bide my time."_ "Where are we going?" Val asked as he put his hands up.

"Shut up! I'll tell you where to go!" the lead gunman said as one of his crew violently shoved the gun in Val's back.

"I'll tell you where to go if you keep shoving that gun in my back," Val threatened.

"Hellooo! This is a kidnapping. You better start taking this seriously before you get your ass shot off," another one of the gunmen said in a flamboyant manner to the consternation of his co-conspirators.

"Oh, is that so?" As soon as they were out in the open Val quickly turned around and cold cocked the gunman who had him covered.

"Shoot him!" the lead gunmen ordered.

Val leaped up into the air with several somersaults, dodging the gunfire with ease as he landed on the ground and zipped over to each of the gunmen, taking them out with one blow. _"As far as I'm concerned those bullets are moving in slow motion but I'll still have to be careful. I'm pretty tough but bullets still hurt when they hit me!"_ the man with the seemingly super human reflexes thought to himself as he turned towards the left over members of his would be kidnappers who began to fall back in the face of his fury.

"This guy is horrifically hard to hit! Concentrate your fire on him!" the lead gunman ordered. But their target still managed to evade their fire, surprising his attackers by leaping backwards and ricocheting off of walls or anything else that was there. In time he took out more of the gunmen.

"What's going on out there?" the maitre'd of the Saffron's restaurant asked out loud as the sound of the firefight outside had reached inside the restaurant.

"That guy looks like Karate Kid, the guy in that Underground Fighting Tournament. What's he doing out there with all that flying lead?" a patron asked.

Destiny turned and looked outside, seeing her date fight the men who were shooting at him. _"Wow! What moves he has, dodging all that gunfire! My, that guy's fast! But as it is, he's starting to come out of his clothes!"_ the tall brunette thought to herself as she ran towards the fight in order to get a closer look.

"Agent-X," the lead agent heard in his comlink.

"Yes?"

"Abort the mission. The police are on their way."

"What do I do about the men who are down?"

"Leave them!"

"All right, guys. We're breaking out. Get in the van!" A large, black van with black windows showed up letting the three agents who were still left in. Once they were inside the van took off.

"Oh no you don't!" the rankled man called out. "You don't get to shoot at me and drive off as if nothing happened!" In seconds he had leaped on top of the van doing an acrobatic flip.

"He's on top of us, man!"

"Use the after burners to create a smoke screen!" the leader ordered. However, Val was undeterred as he leaped from the van and landed several feet in front of it.

"He's right in front of the van, man!" one of the agents exclaimed.

"Run him over if you have to! Gun it!" As the van barreled towards him Val stood his ground. As soon as the van was about to hit him he tossed the van over his shoulders in a martial arts fashion, throwing it across the street.

Everyone who watched gasped in awe as the car went flying. When it finally hit the ground it kept rolling end over end until it stopped with it being upside down with the top on the ground.

XXX

An hour later, Val was giving his statement to the police. "Do you realize it's illegal to throw a van across the street?" the traffic officer said in his interrogation. He looked at Val sternly as if he was a school teacher admonishing an errant student.

"Hey, I'm sorry about that, Officer, but I don't take kindly to people who shoot at me."

"We'll take it from here, Officer," a man in a brown trench coat said, showing his badge and paperwork while several men wearing black took custody of the men who had shot at Val earlier.

"Who are you?" the traffic cop asked.

"I'm Chief Inspector Arthur Belltower from the federal government.

"Uh, yeah, OK," the officer said after verifying the inspector's credentials.

As the police officer walked away the man in the trench coat turned to Val. "Do you have any idea who those men were, Mr. Armorr?"

"No I don't. They ruined a date I had with a hot babe. She probably thinks I stood her up," the young man answered impatiently with his nice clothes ruined.

"Those men were agents of AIM."

"AIM?"

"Yes. AIM is an organization whose primary goal is world conquest by any means necessary, preferably from behind the scenes. Didn't the Usagent give you a chance to join up with the Avengers?"

"He did and I turned him down. The army threw me out like so much trash. So there's no way I'm going to join up with them or with Usagent's group."

"Hmmm. How about joining up with the government as a law enforcement agent? You obviously know how to take care of yourself. You'll also be able to deal with the forces of AIM without having to deal with the police like you did just now. Besides, I'd like to have a powerhouse working me instead of the Avengers getting all the best people."

"Well. As great as sticking it to the Usagent would be, I'm really not interested. My date may not have left as of yet. Can I go now?"

"All right. But I hope you'll reconsider what I'm offering. The experiment that made you what you are killed four other men and the guy who conducted that illegal experiment on you and those other soldiers was Dr. Phosphorus; he works for AIM. For all we know he may be running the organization. He may be trying to recreate the experiment. AIM will do anything they can to get the experiment right so they can create an army of guys like you."

"I'll keep that mind. My grandfather was the only one who was there for me when the army threw me out after it looked like I was going to die. He trained me when I was still in pain. It was as if he was a father to me. So there's no way I'm going to abandon him."

"I understand. I'll be sure to keep in touch," Belltower said.

As the inspector left, Destiny Fathom walked over to her date for the evening. "That was great, Val! I knew you were agile and strong but I had no idea how much! And the moves you executed!"

"Well, thanks. You look really good in that outfit too," Val replied with a charming smile.

"Really?" Destiny said with a smile. "I was wondering about something. Do you take steroids or something like that? I can keep a secret. So you can tell me."

"I don't take steroids, Destiny. A mad scientist experimented on me. Later on, my grandfather found me and trained me in several techniques to help me survive the experiment and thrive."

"You mean like martial arts?" the brunette asked.

"That's right. I've trained in several fighting styles but my main fighting style is Matsuda Kempo, my family's style. It's a great martial art, and my future victory in the Street Fighter Tournament will prove that."

"Oh, I see. When you got big, strong and agile you had to train your body so you could function better. Did all that martial arts training make you so strong and fast or was it the experiments you endured which helped to make you so invincible?"

"I'd say a little bit of both but the experiments practically killed me. The training I did under my grandfather was what allowed me to survive despite the fact that the experiment which almost killed me killed four others increased my muscle mass and bone structure."

"Did the experiment you went through have something to do with those guys shooting at you?" Destiny asked.

"It did. I like you but these guys might decide to try to kill me again. If they do try to kill me you might get hit in the crossfire. So if you want to back out now, I wouldn't blame you."

Before Val knew what was happening, Destiny hoisted him up, holding him high in the air, pressing him. "What the…"

"Listen, Val. You ought to be able to tell by looking at me that I'm pretty strong myself. And I did all of this without taking steroids or any kind of experiments. I have only ten percent body fat while the rest of me is either glandular or pure muscle. I even have a black belt in tae kwon do along with a lot of wrestling and street fighting experience. So don't you go worrying about me."

After hearing her speech, Val practically flew out of her grasp and into the air, doing a backflip and landing on his feet right in front of her. "Well, I'm glad to hear it. Your strength is very impressive for a woman of your petite size," Val said, admiring the sexy, well-conditioned girl.

"That flip you did was impressive too, Val. Did I mention I also used to train in gymnastics? My mother thought that doing gymnastics would help me be less clumsy when I was younger."

"I'd be impressed if you managed to stay in what your wearing if you did a lot of acrobatic maneuvers," Val said admiring the fact that Destiny's open midriff dress had opened a little more after she had picked him up.

"Hmmm? Oh, that. I'm not the shy type but I hope you'll still respect me in the morning. Did you learn acrobatics from martial arts training too?"

"Some. My mother grew up in the circus as an acrobat so she put me through acrobatic training from before I could walk. The acrobatic training I went through as a child made my martial arts training go a lot more smoothly."

"There's one thing that bothers me."

"What's that?"

"When those guys shot at you they weren't able to hit you; it was like you had super human agility. I've never seen anyone move so fast."

"Yeah. I'm not the only one who can move so fast. If you've been watching the news you would have seen guys like Captain America, Daredevil, and Spider-Man moving with approximately as much agility as I have.

"Hmm. I suppose so. But you sure have a gorgeous body," Destiny said, admiring the young man's physique. "How big are your arms, around 18 inches?"

"That's about right. Are you into those fitness competitions I've seen on ESPN? You look like you can do it."

"Now you notice. I am a participant in the Ms. Fitness Competition. But as I said before I don't take steroids or anything like that. I have great genetics and the fact that I was a gymnast for years helps to keep me from stuffing myself outside of competitions the way some women like to do."

"I can understand that. Being an acrobat I had to learn not to eat too much as well. But I'm sorry to have ruined such a nice evening. I surely can't go in a posh restaurant like Saffron's dressed the way I am now."

"You don't look so bad," Destiny said with a wide toothy smile. "How about if you go back home and change? I can order for the both of us. The New York Strip combo here is very good."

"All right. I'll be right back."

XXX

AUTHOR'S NOTES: I hope you've enjoyed this. Expect to see more exploits of Karate Kid in the upcoming chapters

Speed Reader, Kool Moe D., Redzorin, Sir Thames, Pac Man, gen x, Excel


	3. Across the Sea

Karate Kid

!SPECIAL EFFECTS! _"THOUGHTS"_

Chapter Three

XXX

Val and Master Matsuda got off the plane which had come from New York, La Guardia and flown across the Atlantic Ocean to an airport in Paris, France. Val wore a white T-Shirt that strained against his muscular physique and a pair of jeans while Tetsuo wore a white suit and hat that was casual wear for a Japanese martial arts master. As they walked through the airport, Jean Pierre, the Tournament promoter for France, walked up to them. "Bonjour, Monsiers. Welcome to France."

"Uh, yeah. Asta la vista and all that," Val answered as their host smirked. "What?" the martial artist said as he noticed his martial arts master and the fight promoter staring at him.

"I believe you just said good bye to him, Val, and in Spanish no less," Tetsuo Matsuda explained.

"Oh. Anyway, let's get this show on the road."

"Of course, Monsieur. Of course. Not many fighters dare to challenge the mighty la Peregrine," the promoter said, seemingly impressed.

"I'm not afraid of anything. I know all about La Peregrine's fighting abilities. Despite his speed I can take him on. I've defeated even faster guys than him in my time."

"Well," the promoter said as he regarded the fighter's muscular physique. "The steroids in America are a lot more potent than the ones in France I see," the promoter said in reference to Val's large arms and much defined physique.

"I didn't take steroids, Monsieur! It's a long story, so where's the fight going to be held?"

"I have a van which will take us to the open field where the fight will be held." _"But you'll never make it there, you Bruce Lee wannabe! Before you can even get to fight La Peregrine, you'll have to deal with agents of AIM,"_ the promoter thought to himself as he thought of all the money he was getting paid for this "assignment"

XXX

On their way to what Val and Tetsuo thought was the match with La Peregrine, the van stopped for a moment. "What's the hold up, ?" Val asked impatiently.

"Au revoir!" Pierre called out as he ran out of the vehicle as if hell was at his heels, taking the keys and leaving the parked van on the dirt road in the deserted street out in the middle of nowhere.

"His actions are strange indeed," Master Matsuda said in light of their host's behavior.

"Hey, where are you going?" Val called out to the fleeing promoter.

!BLAM!POP! "We're being shot at!" the old master exclaimed as he ducked.

"We need to get out of the van! I know I heard the sound of an anti-tank weapon out there. We better move!" !BOOM! The van blew up as an old 88mm anti-tank weapon hit it dead on.

A few moments later Van woke up with his martial arts master nowhere to be seen. "What the? What happened? Where am I?" the karate fighter said as he got up to find his clothes in tatters. "Grandfather?"

"He's dead, Karate Kid," a voice said with scorn. "And if you don't do what we say you'll soon be joining him."

The young man turned towards the voice and saw ten men wearing yellow body suits with a round helmet on top. The AIM agents pointed their hi-tech guns at him. "What do you guys want? Did you have something to do with blowing up our van?"

"Yes. And just in case you think your kung fu makes you so invincible take a look at this." The head AIM agent took out his laser rifle and blasted a nearby rock, vaporizing it. Someone whose eyes were as well trained as Val could see that the laser rifles being used were shooting out energy that was a whole lot faster than any bullet.

"What do you guys want with me? And why'd you have to kill a great martial arts master like my grandfather? I won't forget this ever!" Val exclaimed as he got to his feet, completely waking up.

"Save the threats for someone who's impressed, half-breed. And don't try anything funny; we have you covered."

"What do you guys want? You harassed me in Los Angeles and now you're bothering me here."

"Never mind that. We have our reasons. We're taking you to our boss."

"I won't back down!" The powerful warrior struck the ground with his foot, creating a shockwave which knocked the men off of their feet. He quickly leaped behind a large boulder as the agents shot at him with their sophisticated weaponry. !SHATTER!

_"They've practically destroyed my temporary shield!"_ Val thought as he calmly leaped away from the laser barrage which turned the boulder into rubble in less than five seconds.

"Where is he?"

"Up here!" Val had leaped up into the air and came crashing down on the agents, surprising them, with his blinding speed.

!CRACK! "Ungh!"

!POP! "Ooh!"

!SMACK! "Aargh!"

!WAP! "Ugh!"

"Sensei! Are you OK?" Val asked as he ran over to the old man, pushing his strength to get the leaning van off of him.

"It's over for me, Val. You've done very well, surpassing all of my hopes with your skill and discipline," the dying old man said with a smile. "I know you're not the same Val Armorr I've known but I'm happy with you nonetheless. Make our family proud." With that the old man died.

"Nooooo!" Val closed the dead eyes and looked up into the sky.

_"I can still make it to where I need to be if I use my ki to boost my running speed and move as fast as possible. I've mastered the abilities of sumo wrestlers who can move their hands at what could be described as super human speed, slapping their opponents eleven times per second. In addition to that, I've also learned how to kick at super human speed. Now I will use those techniques to propel my feet to make me move faster. I've learned a lot from my grandfather here that I didn't know from all the time I spent in the Legion of Super Heroes and from before that time. It's good that I can run faster and leap even higher here since I don't have a flight ring. Necessity is indeed the mother of invention."_

After seeing to his grandfather's dead body, making sure the luggage was safe and secure and getting his fighting uniform on, Val took off for the fight.

XXX

The announcer and officials of the Underground Fighting Tournament looked at their watches, waiting for the other fighter to show up. "We're going to have to call this one off."

"We can't do that! Too many people have put their bets down already. If there's no fight; there's no money," an official stated excitedly. Then the official turned to Jean Pierre. "Didn't they come with you? Where are they?"

"They told me they could get here without my help and that they knew the country side."

"What?"

"Sorry, Monsieur. I tried to warn them. Maybe they got killed by criminals." _"No one will ever see them again. AIM paid me a whole lot of money just to lead them into that trap."_

"Look! There's something coming this way!"

"What is it?"

Someone used a pair of binoculars to get a better look. "It's a man wearing some kind of strange, modified karate gi! Wow! He's running faster anyone else I've ever seen before!"

"What does he look like?"

"It's Val Armorr, the Karate Kid!"

"Let me see that!" the announcer ordered, taking the binoculars. "It's him all right!"

Eventually Val arrived right in front of the announcers table, huffing and puffing. "Sorry I'm late. There was a..."

"Never mind that! We have to get this fight started already. We've spent too much time waiting!" the announcer exclaimed in relief.

"All right. All right." Val stated as he did some quick stretching exercises.

"It's about time you got here," La Peregrine, a handsome Frenchman wearing a dark blue leotard with artificial wings under his arms stated impatiently.

"We had some problems with..."

"AIM. I figured that was the reason. You have my sympathy, but I'll still defeat you."

"I won't be the one needing sympathy," the karateka stated with confidence.

"Let's get ready to ruuuuumble!" the announcer screamed as La Peregrine and Karate Kid stood at opposite sides of the bricked stone street. There were hundreds of people there watching as the two warriors came at each other, the Karate Kid running while La Peregrine flew. Before La Peregrine could reach him, Val struck with a powerful roundhouse kick that sent his opponent backwards and on to the ground.

The Frenchman got up and attempted to nail Val with a combination that consisted of a leg sweep, a snap kick, and sidekick that all together missed. Val counter attacked with a low kick, striking the Frenchman in the shins.

While the two were in the clinch Karate Kid rocked his head back like a head banger, headbutting the Frenchman head to nose, stunning him. Then he broke free of the hold and struck him several times with good, well executed punch and kick combinations which knocked his opponent back a few feet. "You have fast fists. Let's see how you fare against this!" La Peregrine then spun around and struck Val with a reverse front kick that surprised the Karate Kid as it hit him in the chest.

"Oof! Pretty good. But that won't work a second time." Val then grabbed the savateur by the offending foot, spun him around countless times. Then he nailed his opponent with several roundhouse kicks while he was spinning in the air. La Peregrine shook his head as he recovered from having been stunned by the Karate Kid's fast and furious volley of kicks.

"I'm surprised you were able to recover so quickly from my powerful attack," the savateur stated during the battle.

"That kick left you open, dude. That's why kicking isn't always the best policy, especially a kick like that," Val said as the savate kick boxer got to his feet and leaped into the air.

"Let's see how you handle my flying capabilities." La Peregrine came down on his opponent like a dive bomber. However, before he could get to him, Val leaped up into the air with grace and ease. Getting above his opponent, Val struck his opponent in a rapid fire fashion with flawless punch and kick combinations, knocking him downwards. Then the Karate Kid slammed him into the ground, cracking the pavement.

"You're fairly skilled, but you're still not skilled enough to beat me. You need to work more on your aerial techniques. I was practically running circles around you even though I can't fly," Val said, doing just that as he struck him.

"Enough! I didn't come here to hear you prattle on. Fight me and shut up!"

"All right." !CRACK!POW! The Frenchman went flying back. _"I handled that pretty well. And now..."_ Before Val could do or say anything else, La Peregrine quickly flew over to him, attempting to hit him with countless rapid fire kicks which all missed. Then he took to the air and came down on his opponent like a dive bomber. In response, Val leaped into the air to meet his opponent, striking his adversary with a snap kick that rocked his head to the side.

"Oof!" However, La Peregrine was still in the fight. Attacking him while still in the air, the Frenchman attacked with a flurry of attacks as if there was no tomorrow.

The Karate Kid countered at an uncanny speed, crouching, getting up, and striking his opponent with a fast uppercut at the same time in one swift movement, knocking him into the air again.

"So you're fast and strong." La Peregrine came at his opponent, attempting to grab him again but Val struck him with several boxing combinations that rocked the Frenchman back. When his opponent was stunned, Val moved in on him at an inhuman speed, bowling him over with a powerful roundhouse kick that finally sent the savateur into a world of unconsciousness.

Some of the people watching cheered after having seen such a fantastic fight but some of the audience booed when their hero went down in defeat. "You did well, Val Armorr," the announcer stated, walking over to him. "Where's the old guy who is your martial arts master? He's normally with you, isn't he?

"Uh, yes. About that. I need to go back and see to it that he's buried properly."

"Oh. OK. I just thought you'd like to know that the next fighter on your itinerary is Elektra from New York. He lives in a place called Hell's Kitchen, so you'll have to be careful when we get there."

"All right. I've heard a lot about that lady. Her strength and reflexes are are extremely impressive, but that's all right. I've handled skilled adversaries before. Now if you'll let me take my leave," Val answered while certain men in the audience lurked in the shadows. Then Val noticed the promoter who had set them up for the ambush that happened earlier.

"Hey, Jean Pierre!" Val called out to the promoter's fleeing form. "You're not getting away from me! Come back here!"

In a matter of seconds the Karate Kid had caught up to the promoter and nabbed him. "Who had you ambush us like that? Answer me!"

"I know nothing!" the frightened man answered, shaking.

Then La Peregrine walked over to them and looked down on the promoter menacingly. "Did what happened have something to do with Aim?"

"Yes. I needed the money! How could I have refused?" !BLAM! "Ungh!" Pierre slumped to the ground after having been shot cleanly in the head.

"Who did that?" Both La Peregrine and Val turned around, searching the area, but none of them found the shooter.

An hour later the shooter had gotten into a dark alley where his boss and cohorts were waiting. "I heard Val Armorr's next fight will be in New York City, New York in America," the shooter said.

"Yeah, that's right. He's fighting some ninja chick."

"We'll nab this guy there. There's so many things that can happen in the Big Apple," the lead AIM agent said to his crew.

XXX

AUTHOR'S NOTES: I'm happy to see so many hits for this. I'll try to update sooner next time.


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